Issues affecting deported communities in Pacific

“Come, my love, with me across the sea.
Return to paradise.
All in life worthwhile is on that isle.
Return to paradise.
Velvet moon above, evil turns to love, love evermore.
Come with me and find your peace of mind.
Return to paradise.”
(Lyrics from the 1953 motion picture Return to Paradise)

The 1953 film relates the story of how a drifter named Mr. Morgan arrives on the tiny island of Samoa and disrupts the social order that has been set by Pastor Corbett. Although fictional, the account brings to light many aspects of Mr. Morgan’s arrival on a small island community and the subsequent challenges that arise.

In 2010, there is a prevalent theme to that in the movie as men and women are sent “home” to Tonga and Samoa under deportation/removal schemes. The issue of forced repatriation has been the focus of many debates between international organizations, governments and academics.

A recent baseline study “Returned(ed) to Paradise”, commissioned by UNESCO Apia, examined the experiences and issues faced by criminal deportees arriving in Samoa and Tonga. The term deportation, as described by the International Organization for Migration, refers to: “The act of a State in removing a non-citizen from its territory after refusal of admission or termination of permission to remain”.

The research identified the United States of America, Australia, and New Zealand as the main deporting countries. The deportees were mainly young men who had left Samoa and Tonga at a young age and spent most of their life abroad. Many experienced socioeconomic marginalization, amongst other migration stressors.
The common thread for those deported is that they committed criminal acts that led to their deportation. For some, this originated as adolescents entering the juvenile justice system and progressing onto the adult justice system. For others, it was one incident that would lead to a painful separation from everything that they had ever known.

“I did in fact lose my sense of culture and adapted into the lifestyle/culture drugs and violence. My downward began, my arrest record accumulated and I began going to jail as a juvenile… spent [the] majority of my adolescent away from my family and home,” said Fua, speaking under a pseudonym.
Report findings showed the average length of time spent incarcerated was just over four years, with the majority serving less than two years in prison. The most common offences amongst those who reported their crime were common/ aggravated assaults; equal second were aggravated robbery/burglary and theft/ robbery/burglary; followed by drug related charges.

The mandatory deportation of non-citizens with criminal convictions deeply affects those individuals. Many broke the law without realizing their status of “permanent resident” is conditional and that their actions can lead to deportation to a country they hardly know.

For many of the deportees, “home” is where they have been deported from, rather
than where they have been sent to. This means that re-integration into their “new home” can often be problematic due to the fact deportees have to learn to live within a new environment; with a new set of rules and codes; and new surroundings, for example, villages and new family/community members that they do not identify with.

Many also experience the pain of leaving their partners and children behind. This is exacerbated by the experience of culture-shock that can be attributed to having little or no knowledge of their new “home”.

Many deportees described feeling “strange” in their new environment. In some cases, deportees experienced a loss motivation to continue with their own lives, as described by Failalo, another deportee who spoke under an alias.

“[I felt] mainly lost, confused and depressed. It was hard to adjust to my culture so it made me frustrated, [I] started drinking heavily and I got into fights with the locals. At times I felt suicidal,” he said.

Many deportees in Samoa and Tonga described the marginalization and stigma they faced. Those with psychiatric and/or physical disabilities prior to their deportation said they became even more marginalized.

Discrimination encountered by deportees often makes it harder for them to gain employment, integrate into village life and find a home. These tasks were made even harder for those with tattoos, or who were street gang members.

“They hate me because of my tattoos and the fact that I got deported,” said another alias Moeaktola.

Most said the most prominent barrier to their reintegration into Samoan or Tongan communities is finding a suitable job. This is compounded when knowledge of the local people, culture/customs and the local language is necessary to find employment, or educational resources.

This usually necessitates heavy dependence on remittances from family members abroad, leaving many feeling worthless and frustrated. In some cases it was shown that a lack of remittances or income could lead to recidivist behaviour.

There are currently two organizations in Tonga dedicated to working with deportees. In the capital city of Nukualofa; the Foki ki ‘Api – the Deportation Reconnection programme
through the Tonga Lifeline Crisis Ministry of the Free Wesleyan Church helps deportees.
In Vava’u, an archipelago in northern Tonga, the Ironman Ministry Incorporated offers help.
To date, there are no organizations or programmes to assist deportees sent back to Samoa.

The UNESCO Apia Office has helped to rectify this problem by staging the first National Workshop on Deportees to Samoa in May 2010. The event was a success and attracted representatives of national government ministries, non-governmental organizations, development partners and other civil society groups. Deportees attended the meeting and their valuable input will help move the process forward.

ENDS

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